Pens on ropes after gong show in Philly; Canucks on brink

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, hardly an innocent bystander on this afternoon, stands over some of the human wreckage at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Old-time hockey, some were calling it. Perhaps, if old-time hockey involved chasing opponents around the rink, trying to decapitate them. Or crosschecking a guy in the throat after he’d levelled someone else with a terrific, clean bodycheck. Or meant pulling hair. You know, just the regular stuff.

• In Los Angeles, Jonathan Quick’s shutout goaltending was one goal better than that offered by Vancouver’s Cory Schneider, the Kings’ 1-0 win over the Canucks putting L.A. up 3-0 and moving last spring’s Stanley Cup-finalist on the brink of elimination.
• In Detroit, former Canadien Sergei Kostitsyn scored what would be the winner and the Predators hung on for dear life to defeat the Red Wings 3-2 and take a 2-1 lead in their series.
• In Sunrise, Fla., the Panthers clawed to a 4-2 win over New Jersey, tying at 1-1 the series between Florida and the Devils.

Meanwhile, New York Rangers’ Carl Hagelin was suspended three games by the NHL for his Saturday elbow to the head of Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson, while the Senators’ Matt Carkner was banned for one game for his punching-bag routine on New York’s Brian Boyle in the same game.